If you’ve ever thought about running Google Ads for daycares, you’ve probably heard two stories. One owner says ads filled her toddler room in a month. Another says he spent a few thousand dollars and got nothing but calls from job seekers. Both can be true. The difference is almost never the budget. It’s how the campaign is set up. This guide walks through the setup I’d want for any daycare or preschool, in plain language, so you can either run it yourself or know what to ask of whoever runs it for you.
Why Google Ads for Daycares Works (When It’s Set Up Right)
Most advertising interrupts people. Google search ads are different: they show up at the exact moment a parent is typing “daycare near me” or “infant care [your town].” That parent already has a need and, often, a deadline, like a return-to-work date or a waitlist that just fell through. You’re not convincing anyone they need childcare. You’re making sure that when they look, your center is one of the first options they see.
Ads also work on your schedule. Local SEO builds visibility that lasts, but it takes months. Ads can be turned on when a classroom opens up and turned down when you’re full. Many centers use both: SEO as the foundation, ads to fill specific openings faster.
Before You Spend a Dollar: Three Things to Have Ready
1. A clear goal tied to a real opening
“More enrollment” is too broad to manage. “Four infant spots open in January” is a goal you can build a campaign around. It tells you which age group to advertise, which keywords matter, and what a successful month looks like.
2. A page that’s built for parents clicking an ad
Sending ad clicks to your homepage is one of the most common ways budgets get wasted. A parent who searched “infant daycare” should land on a page about your infant room: ages served, hours, what a day looks like, real photos, and one obvious next step to book a tour. If you’re not sure what parents look for on that page, our post on what parents check before booking a childcare tour is a good checklist. The page also needs to load quickly and work well on a phone, since that’s where many of these searches happen.
3. Tracking, so you know what a tour actually costs
Set up conversion tracking before launch. At minimum, track tour form submissions and phone calls from the ad. Without it, you’re judging the campaign on clicks, which tells you very little. With it, you can see which keywords bring tour requests and which ones only bring traffic.
Choosing Keywords Parents Actually Search
Your keyword list should sound like a parent, not like your licensing paperwork. Group your keywords by program so each group can point to the right page and use the right ad copy. A simple starting structure:
- General care: daycare near me, child care [town], daycare centers in [town]
- Infant and toddler: infant daycare near me, toddler daycare [town], baby daycare
- Preschool and pre-K: preschool near me, pre-k programs [town], preschool for 3 year olds
- Before/after school and summer: after school care [town], summer camp for kids [town]
Use phrase match or exact match to start. Broad match can work once you have plenty of conversion data, but early on it tends to show your ad for loosely related searches that eat budget.
Negative keywords matter just as much
Negative keywords tell Google when not to show your ad. For childcare, the usual culprits are job seekers and people looking for something other than enrollment. Common negatives to consider:
- jobs, hiring, careers, salary, pay, “teacher,” “assistant”
- certification, CDA, course, training, license requirements
- “how to start a daycare,” business, for sale
- free (unless you offer a free program), and any age groups or programs you don’t serve
Check the search terms report every week for the first month. You’ll find new irrelevant searches to block, and you’ll spot real parent phrases worth adding as keywords.
Location Targeting: Draw the Map Parents Actually Drive
Childcare is about as local as it gets. Most families choose a center close to home or on their commute. Instead of targeting your whole metro area, set a radius or list of ZIP codes that matches where your current families actually come from. Look at your enrollment records; you probably already know which neighborhoods send you the most families.
In your location settings, choose the option that targets people in or regularly in your area, rather than people who have only shown interest in it. That keeps your ads from showing to someone three states away who happened to research your town.
Writing Ads That Get the Right Parent to Click
Parents scanning ads are looking for three things fast: Is this close? Do they take my child’s age? Can I trust them? Your headlines should answer those questions directly. Some approaches that tend to work well:
- Name the program and place: “Infant Care in [Town]” beats “Quality Childcare.”
- State what’s true and specific: your hours, ages served, curriculum approach, meals included, or that you have openings now.
- Give one clear action: “Book a Tour” or “Schedule a Visit,” and make sure the landing page offers exactly that.
Add assets (formerly called extensions) to make your ad bigger and more useful: a call asset so parents can tap to call, a location asset linked to your Google Business Profile, and sitelinks to pages like Infant Room, Preschool, Tuition & Enrollment, and Schedule a Tour. Only show the call asset during hours when someone can actually answer the phone. A missed call from an ad is a lead you paid for and lost.
Setting a Budget You Can Measure
Costs per click vary a lot by market, so I won’t give you a magic number. A better way to think about budget is to work backward from the value of one enrolled child. Ask yourself what a family is worth to your center over the time they typically stay, then decide what you’re comfortable spending to get one tour and one enrollment. Start with a modest daily budget, give the campaign a few weeks to collect data, and adjust based on cost per tour request, not cost per click.
Ad scheduling helps here too. If your phones aren’t staffed on weekends, you might lower bids or limit call ads then while still letting form submissions come in.
The Part Most Centers Skip: Following Up Fast
When I taught preschool, I saw how quickly parents made decisions once they found a place that felt right. Many of them are contacting several centers at once. The center that calls back first, warmly and with real answers, often gets the tour. So before you launch ads, decide who responds to new inquiries, how fast, and what they say. Even a great campaign can’t fix a voicemail that never gets returned.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Sending every ad to the homepage instead of a program-specific page.
- Skipping negative keywords and paying for job-seeker clicks.
- Advertising a program that’s already full.
- Running campaigns with no conversion tracking.
- Setting it and forgetting it. Campaigns need weekly attention, especially early on.
FAQ: Google Ads for Daycares and Preschools
How much should a daycare spend on Google Ads?
It depends on your market and how many seats you need to fill. Start with a budget you can sustain for at least a month, track cost per tour request, and scale up only when you can see ads producing tours that turn into enrollments.
How long before Google Ads bring in tour requests?
Ads can start showing within a day or two of approval, so some centers see inquiries quickly. Expect the first few weeks to be a learning period while you refine keywords, negatives and bids.
Should I run Google Ads if I’m already doing local SEO?
They work well together. SEO and your Google Business Profile build steady, long-term visibility. Ads let you push a specific program when you have openings. Many centers lean on ads during busy enrollment seasons and ease off when they’re full.
Can I manage Google Ads myself?
Yes, if you have time to check it every week. The setup in this guide is a solid start. Where owners usually get stuck is ongoing management: reviewing search terms, adjusting bids and testing new ads while also running a center.
Want a Second Set of Eyes on Your Ads?
Whether you’re thinking about starting Google Ads or already running a campaign that isn’t bringing in tours, we can help. Clear Path works only with preschools and childcare centers, and our paid ads management is built around one goal: more tours from the families you want to serve. Book your free growth assessment and we’ll look at your ads, your website and your Google presence, then show you the clearest next steps. Prefer to talk first? Contact us here.
